#but we did include the fandom/series they're from

[atamascolily]

The part about Urobuchi visualizing witches as kaiju (specifically, he thought of Walpurgisnacht as Godzilla) is true and comes from a Q&A panel at Animagic in 2013.

In an interview at Otakon in 2012, Urobuchi said

"When I wrote the script, I didn't have any of the witches' back stories. It was actually the designer [Inu Curry] who designed how they look and came up with their back stories. For the upcoming movie [Rebellion], it was actually that designer that brought me up to speed with their back stories."

See also this translation of a pamphlet released with Rebellion where Urobuchi talks about being perpetually surprised by what SHAFT did to visualize his work (he had no idea the Nightmare was going to be a 3-D stuffed animal, for instance). When Urobuchi said, "At this point, I really feel that Madoka Magica doesn’t just belong to me anymore", he doesn't mention Inu Curry specifically, but at this point, I think Inu Curry has contributed just as much or more for the franchise as a whole, especially if we take Magia Record into account.

The translated excerpts from the "You Are Not Alone" Guidebook on the Puella Magi Wiki also have a lot of information about the production process for the original series, including a comment from Mitsutoshi Kubota (Chief Executive Officer of SHAFT) that Inu Curry had a strong artistic vision for the witches that they refused to compromise on.

Given all of this, you can see why I have questions about who did what for Walpurgis no Kaiten, because you can't delve deeply into any kind of origin story for Walpurgisnacht in the script without either getting Inu Curry's buy-in or overriding them. I suspect Urobuchi just rolled with whatever Inu Curry (either collectively or Doroinu specifically, since he's the only one involved with WnK) decided, the way he did with other things, but we'll see what happens when the movie comes out. If that's the case, then the visuals and script will be more consistent with each other than they would be otherwise, but it will be highly ironic if the fandom ends up blaming Urobuchi for a plot twist or reveal that turns out be Inu Curry's idea from the very beginning!

For me, the biggest gap between the script and the finished series are the majuu (魔獣, "magical beasts") that appear in the final episode after witches are erased. What Inu Curry came up with wasn't anything remotely like a "magical beast"; instead, we got legions of identical Buddhist humanoid figures that the English translation called "wraiths" because the literal term in the script was so nonsensical in context. And it mostly worked out because the wraiths are only present for a brief clip at most, and then get name-dropped in Rebellion, but Walpurgis no Kaiten shows us a clip of them in action that suggests they're going to get more screen time (and also features the kanji for majuu to emphasize what we're looking at). But I think Urobuchi would have called them something else if he'd known what they were going to look like.

Re: the architecture/atmosphere/animation, I have thoughts. Oh, boy, do I have thoughts.

The thing about interviews related to Madoka saying that the Faust and Little Mermaid fairy tale elements weren't in Urobuchi's original scripts is that, while that's definitely true (there's a dissonance between what we see on screen and what the characters actually comment on, like in the Labyrinths), those elements are still impossible to ignore because they still work with the script to create the whole. Shows are collaborative efforts, after all.

(Like, you'll see people--generally people who watch tokusatsu--easily point out the similarities between Kamen Rider Ryuki and Madoka, and while they are there, I think the Devil is in the details and the visuals between both shows are wildly different from each other. The same way that Ryuki's visuals are nothing like Revolutionary Girl Utena's--which predates the former and is also a battle royale story about an idealistic young person having their beliefs challenged while a mysterious man orchestrates a series of duels/battles with his sister at the center of it all.)

But at the same time, I feel like Walpurgisnacht's name was at least original to the scripts. It's the only Witch whose name is spoken by the main cast, and it fits the general Witch aesthetic. But we really can't know the full details of the design process. It's kind of a chicken or egg situation there.

I feel like by Rebellion Urobuchi could have been more directly influenced by Inu Curry, though.

[cractasticdispatches]

Blorbo Poll

Rules: make a poll with five of your all-time favourite characters and then tag five people to do the same. See which character is everyone's favourite.

tagged by: @im-not-a-monster

EDT: ah shit we forgot to tag ppl like a dumbass. uh..... you. you reading this right now (if u want to anyway)

[tea-dragonz]

Talking about every Invisible Davis / Queen Kat MCRP series that I've watched (non-spoiler reviews I guess)

There aren't enough people in the Invisible Davis / Queen Kat fandom who talk about their Minecraft series, especially with all the new fans coming in. So I'll talk about them and hopefully it gets more people interested in the series. Won't be every series because I haven't watched all of them, but it's a good chunk of them

If you've watched a series and want to add your thoughts on it, feel free to add on! If you haven't watched the series that I'll talk about, take this as a review/recommendation of sorts

Fairy Tail Origins (S5 Invisible Davis Studios)

Fairy Tail Origins is a multi POV series based on the world of the Fairy Tail anime, though it has its own original plots and characters so you don't need to watch the anime first. This is also the first series that Davis did with the OriginsMCRP group. This was the first MCRP series I watched from Davis and the Origins group in general, so it has a bit of a special place in my heart. TBH there isn't much of a plot for most of his POV, and I would personally say that I do prefer the stories of other POVs to his. However, the thing that really carries Davis' POV for me is the interactions between Davis' character and others. I love the found family dynamic he has with Betty and Damien, and to a lesser extent with his guild mates in La Carnival and fellow dragon slayer Bryan. Compared to most of the other series on the list, it's pretty chill, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have it's own interesting moments.

SCP (S1 Invisible Davis Studios + Queen Kat Productions [partway through], S2 Invisible Davis Studios + Queen Kat Productions)

The SCP series is, unsurprisingly, based on the lore of the SCP Foundation. As someone with little knowledge of SCP, I felt like they explained things pretty well here, so you don't need to do a huge deep dive just to understand this series. The premise of the series starts off with Davis as a D-class and Kat as a scientist in charge of experimenting on him, and that's all I can reveal without spoiling the main meat of the series. There are moments of action and horror (ngl the episode with the staircase definitely freaked me out a bit), though the character interactions are definitely a main draw for me, especially later on. Definitely a must watch, especially if you're into sci-fi. Kat's episode 1 of Season 1 lines up around episode 40-ish of Davis' Season 1 (because Kat started her POV much later). Currently Kat's Season 2 is over, and we have yet to see Davis' Season 2 finale (though it does seem to be something that is being worked on).

Otso and Derpy Adventures (S1+S2 Queen Kat Productions) + Toby's FNAF Adventures (Queen Kat Productions)

Otso and Derpy Adventures is about the titular characters, Otso and Derpy, who are siblings with interdimensional abilities. The best way I can describe this is like 75% crack humor and 25% lore and/or drama. One episode they'll be at the beach and Otso will bust out a flying bathtub, and in another they'll be arrested and put on trial for breaking interdimensional laws. It gets pretty meta, and ever once in a while Otso and Derpy will break the fourth wall or acknowledge that they're in a minecraft roleplay. Because of its nature as a series about hopping between dimensions, you'll see references to Kat and Davis' other works here, as well as references to Otso and Derpy in their other shows. There's also a lot of lore about the different versions of Kat and Davis across the multiverse and it gets surprisingly intense at points. Definitely a bit of a daunting series to get into, both because of the 400+ episode count and the references to other series. I personally wouldn't recommend this one if you're relatively new to Kat and Davis' content, I'd watch at least a couple other series before this one. But as someone who hasn't watched all of their series (including one of the ones referenced the most here), I wouldn't say that not getting all the references takes me out of it or anything. Especially in Season 2, it has enough of its own plot and lore to stand on its own.

I also added Toby's FNAF Adventures here as it is kind of an interlude between Seasons 1 and 2 of Otso and Derpy. It follows the younger brother of Otso and Derpy, Toby, on his own adventures that seem unconnected to Otso and Derpy until the finale. It's a very short watch, and the series was supposed to be longer but was unfortunately cut short due to low viewership. It's loosely based on the space portion of Bonnie's Adventures. Because of its short length and how it bridges Toby's character arc between Seasons 1 and 2 of Otso and Derpy, I do think that people should watch it if they're watching that series as well.

My Hero Origins (S1 Invisible Davis Studios, S2 Invisible Davis Studios + Queen Kat Productions)

My Hero Origins is a multi POV series made by the Origins group based on My Hero Academia. It follows the premise of a bunch of kids with quirks (superpowers) going to a school where they learn to be pro heroes. Davis' POV follows Davis as he balances schoolwork in the daytime and vigilante work at night (also gonna note here that MHO Davis was written with autistic coding in mind). The POV also includes one of the villain characters for this series, who is one of my personal favorites, both for his time as a villain and the voice Davis gave him. It's got a solid plot and characters, though I can't bring up MHO without bringing up the action scenes and cinematics. There are several throughout the series, since it is still a superhero series. There is an hour-long almost fully cinematic episode about 3/4ths of the way through the series, and it is genuinely one of the most impressive things I've seen created in minecraft. Would recommend this if you're into more action-oriented stuff.

Season 2 didn't do as well so it was cut short, though it may end up being revived in the future. It takes place a few years after MHO, now with only two POVs: Davis (who is trying to make it as a pro hero but has to deal with hero agencies that prioritize money and popularity over doing real good) and Kat (who is going to a college for pro heroes). I found it an interesting concept, and it genuinely is a shame that is wasn't finished. Whether you actually watch this one is up to you, I don't really like recommending unfinished series, but I still think it's still pretty solid for what we got.

Origins of Olympus (S3 Invisible Davis Studios)

Origins of Olympus is a multi-POV series based mainly on Greek mythology, but Seasons 2 and 3 include other pantheons as well. Despite the gripes I have with Origins of Olympus as a whole and its portrayal of certain cultures, the Mors/Xiphos POV by Davis is my personal favorite Origins series that he did. He has two POV characters here: Mors, the son of Thanatos, and Xiphos, whose identity I shouldn’t spoil. I have so many thoughts about Mors that I’ve already said here on this account, and though I’m not normally a fan of edgier or more morally reprehensible characters, I absolutely loved him (it might just be me though, he’s a pretty divisive character in the OoO fandom). Though I’m not as big of a fan of Xiphos, I think that the arc he has here is surprisingly pretty deep. Both characters’ backstories tie into events from Seasons 1 & 2, which Davis does not have a POV for, though as someone who watched Season 3 with limited knowledge of the other 2 seasons, I’d say they give you enough information to be caught up at the very least. There’s also Korina and Kat (both played by Kat) and Luchnos as side characters who are absolutely wonderful here, and I’ll talk about one of them a bit more later on. Also, shoutout to the cinematics in this series; there’s two big fight scenes that come to mind that are absolutely iconic, and the opening scene of the first episode is great at establishing exactly what kind of series you’re getting yourself into. I highly recommend this series.

Korina's Origin (Queen Kat Productions)

So I mentioned Korina back in the Origins of Olympus section; she gets her own series in the form of Korina's Origin. It explores Korina's backstory and her history with Mors, Thanatos, and Luchnos before the events of OoO Season 3. Out of all of the series that Kat and Davis have done so far this is one of my favorite, if not the top favorite, series of their that I have watched. It is very character and relationship focused if you're into that, and it is something I really enjoy about the series. I have talked about Mors and Thanatos and Korina at length on my blog, and that's because I find the characters and relationships so wonderfully complex and human that I always find something new to analyze about it. This is a series with a decent amount of moral grayness and decisions made by characters that you my not agree with, and I am living for it. Similarly to OoO, it is heavily based on mythology, though thankfully it keeps the focus narrowed to primarily Greek mythology (with occasional references to Norse and Egyptian mythology, probably because of the proximity of their pantheons). It does take a lot of liberties from the source material, such as changing which gods are related to each other (Kat has said this is to avoid the incest prevalent in Greek mythology, which is fair). Imo it does start slowing down a bit in the final 20-30 episodes, but it's not something that ruins the series for me. So overall, I absolutely recommend watching Korina's Origin. I would personally recommend watching Origins of Olympus before Korina's Origin for a bit more context, though you can still watch this one on its own. Also KO is probably gonna come back for Season 2 at some point so now would be a good time to start watching it.

Bonnie's Adventures (S1 + S2 Invisible Davis Studios)

I actually haven't finished watching this one. FNAF stuff isn’t usually my thing as I’m not really in the fandom, but I would recommend watching it anyways, especially since it’s one of the more popular series in Davis’ fandom (and gets referenced in other series a lot). It’s basically a rewrite of a FNAF forever series that Davis used to work on, and I think it’s fairly solid for what it is. I especially kind of enjoy the development of the relationship between Freddy and Bonnie, and how their different ideals affect that development. I should probably finish this at some point lol

Supernatural Origins (Invisible Davis Studios)

Supernatural Origins is a multi POV series that was surprisingly not based on the TV show, but instead on the general concept of supernatural beings. Davis' POV follows vampire hunter Isaac, his niece Willow, a vampire noblewoman named Lady Cecilia, and a vampire servant named Dimitri. The large amount of characters in a single POV gives the viewer a lot to follow, but all of them are connected in some way so it makes it a little less daunting. This is one of the series that unfortunately wasn't given an ending due to burnout/other constraints. Kinda sad that such an interesting series was never realized to its full potential, but thankfully these characters and some of their plot threads were reused for a series that we'll talk about later on. I do recommend watching it, but do prepare to be left on a bit of a cliffhanger.

Fairy Tail (Invisible Davis Studios)

Similar premise to Fairy Tail Origins, except it's only Davis' POV now, and basically it revolves around Davis joining a magic guild called Wolf Claw while trying to come to terms with and atone for his past, standard action-fantasy shenanigans occur. Though this Davis is basically the same as FTO Davis design and personality wise, this series is set in a completely separate continuity and mostly has different characters, and now Davis' character actually has a solidified story to follow. This is one of the series where Kat and Davis took a their characters from Origins and gave them their own series as a reboot of sorts. The plot here is a lot more solid, the characters are great (Astrid is a fave of mine), and the actions cinematics are amazing (though due to constraints that Davis mentioned they may not return as much in season 2, so cherish them here). Still keeps some of the found family aspects from FTO, but switch out some of the characters. Overall a solid watch that I would recommend.

Sword Art Origins (Invisible Davis Studios)

Basically a multi POV series that is based on Sword Art Online. Gonna be real with you all, I keep forgetting this one exists. Generally it was kinda bleh imo, but it was the last series by Origins before it officially disbanded so I kind of get it. For what little Davis made of this series, it had an intimidating villain and did a good job of setting up the stakes/plot. Don't really recommend this one because of how short and inconclusive it was, and also apparently there was stuff going on behind the scenes of this series that really hit the fan. But who knows? The characters might be recycled for a future series.

The Backrooms (Invisible Davis Studios + Queen Kat Productions)

Another short series, though at least this one has an ending. Basic premise is that this series' Kat and Davis get trapped in the Backrooms and try to escape. It focuses mainly on the horror of the entities in the Backrooms, though there's also some element of human horror in it (if that makes sense). Davis (the creator, not the character) himself isn't really a fan of how the series turned out. I think it's pretty alright for what it is, but otherwise don't have a lot to say about it. I recommend both POVs for being a short watch combined, if nothing else (and I really do recommend both POVs because Kat's version has the ending for both of them).

Undertale (Invisible Davis Studios)

This is a minecraft roleplay based on the hit indie game Undertale. The basic premise is that Davis, a park ranger stationed near Mount Ebott, catches Frisk as they are about to fall down to the Underground on their hundredth or so run of the game. As a result, the two of them fall down into the Underground together and become linked. Davis tries to find a way out of the Underground with Frisk while Frisk tries to speedrun Undertale without Davis getting in the way. It's a pretty unique concept for an Undertale AU imo, though sadly it was one of the series that got cut short. It fortunately does get a finale, though it is a bit of a controversial ending to some. I really like the little details here that tie things back to the game while changing things up due to the minecraft medium and events being from the perspective of Davis, such as how the fights are translated from the game to minecraft, Davis being unable to see save points but Frisk being able to interact with them, and the random comments Frisk makes that are references to the game text. I do personally recommend this if you are a fan of Undertale. Like I said before, the ending might not be for everyone, though it might be a bit more interesting if you have watched Davis' other series before.

FNAF Chronicle (Invisible Davis Studios)

FNAF Chronicle is an original FNAF project that takes elements from the games, movies, and books. This series' Davis becomes the new owner of the long abandoned Fazbear's location and the animatronics inside, but quickly learns there's more to them than meets the eye. Like I said previously, I don't care too much for FNAF stuff, but this series has me hooked. About half the episodes are crack humor and references to past series, while the other half is a mix of drama, mystery, and horror. I'd say that out of every series on this post that can be considered horror, this one does it the best. There are some jumpscares (which I normally hate), but they're used sparingly and most of the horror is done through the building of tension and mystery. The voice and body acting do a good job of getting across just how terrifying these situations are for Davis and the others. Plus the use of the humorous episodes is done in a way that gives you a break from the more intense aspects of the series while not being entirely detached from the plot. Definitely a good series to watch, and it's currently still in progress on Davis' channel.

The Vampire's Bride (Queen Kat Productions)

The Vampire's Bride is an isekai fantasy/romance story that also has bits of being a historical/fantasy political drama. In the first episode, after seeing TVB Kat be what can only be described as a failure at life, a portal pulls her into another dimension, where the vampire Lord Isvad declares her to be the reincarnation of his wife, Lady Kestrin. Aside from the romance between Kat and Lord Isvad, the series also goes into a lot of worldbuilding for this supernatural world and acknowledges that Kat's new role as a noblewoman is something that gives her both power over others and a target on her back. One of my favorite things about this series is the way that Kat is written. She has a lot of flaws and weaknesses that primarily come from being an outsider to this world (and not having much going for her in her previous life), but we follow her over the course of this series as she grows into this new role. Her growth into a strong woman who relies on her wits and relationship-building skills to survive in this world was really cool to see, especially since I feel like this type of character tends to be overlooked when it comes to characters that are considered "strong female characters". Also, this was the series I mentioned earlier that reuses the characters from Supernatural Origins. Isaac and Willow return, as well as part of their plotline for SNO, Lady Cecilia returns with a modified role, and Dimitri also returns. Glad to see that despite SNO not being able to have a proper ending, the characters can still have their story finished in some form (though do note that it’s still set in a separate continuity from SNO, so you don’t have to watch it to understand this). Definitely recommend watching this one, and it is still currently in progress on Kat's channel.

[becausebuckley]

michelle's buddie fic recs: week 47!

...plus a very special non-buddie fic!! an excellent reading week, once again. the 911 fandom has so many incredible writers!

this is a mix of fics with all ratings, so some include NSFW content. please take a look at both the ratings and the fic tags before reading! some might also contain spoilers for season 8.

if you come across something you like in this list, remember to show some love to the author by leaving kudos and a comment!

and i need you more than want you (and i want you for all time) | dykeries/@buddiesbian| 25.9k | E

Buck and Eddie's relationship changes over a series of phone calls. Along the way, their family finds its way back home to each other. there's something about phone calls for buddie that just hits so hard... doesn't matter if they're sex calls or emotional calls. this fic is so good, i devoured it!!

ball games | thesquinky | 8.4k | T

buck takes eddie to that lakers game, after all. buck and eddie at the lakers game!! kiss cams!! i was crossing my fingers someone would write a fic exactly like this and it did not disappoint <3

been there, done that (once or twice) | kaistinlove/@kaistinlove | 21.6k | E

the one where Buck wants to make a boudoir album and enlists Eddie's help as a photographer. i clicked on this SO FAST when i saw it!! so good so hot so perfect

DIAZ | mandolare/@confessionseddie | 3k | E

Buck wears the wrong jacket. buck needs to always wear the wrong jacket imo <3 so lovely!!

hold me like water | singomuse7 | 6.3k | T

Eddie's not the most oblivious person in the world and instantly understands what that closet joke meant, and instead of crashing out and blowing his life up about it, he gives Buck sensible advice and breaks up with Marisol. Cue 6k words of gay crisis during madney's wedding. i love love love this fic's eddie so much <3 so good!!

i belong with you, you belong with me (you're my sweetheart) | Distressed_Ladybug15/@cadiebug | 1.4k | GA

For a second they just stand there, staring into Chris’ room, then Buck tips his head back and to the side so he can meet Eddie’s eyes. “Hi,” he mumbles, voice hoarse and overused from work. i needed a little hurt/comfort like this a couple of days ago and it hit the spot perfectly <3

jee- yun's big day | rainbow_nerds/@rainbow-nerdss | 6k | GA

“So, Jee,” Mommy says. “You remember how we visited Daddy at work before?” Jee-Yun nods. “Captain Bobby says you can come to work with me for a whole day!” Daddy looks excited, and Jee thinks about it. Daddy’s work is pretty fun, she thinks. Captain Bobby cooked some really yummy pasta, and Uncle Buck is always there, and so are Aunt Hen and Uncle Eddie. THIS FIC. this fic is the non-buddie inclusion of this week but honestly i don't even care, i need everyone to read it immediately. the loveliest cutest jee ever, and such a lovely ensemble of characters around her <3

make a spark (break the dark) | prettyunhinged | 4.9k | E

Eddie is gay. Tommy sucks. Buck and Eddie frot about it on the couch. this fic is how i realised that there's an ao3 tag especially for eddie's couch and honestly, she deserves it <3 so hot so buddie so good!!

my home is your body | coldbam/@coldbam | 16.6k | E

Buck and Eddie have vastly different nights at Pride. Then very similar summers. this was a reread and it still hits so very hard. the ultimate buddie fwb fic!!

my man says he loves me (never says he loves me not) | colonoscopys/@colonoscopys | 9.7k | GA

croakett: I don’t know what to do tubbalubb: me neither He stares at the screen. Is this the correct time to bring up Buck’s abs? buddie online friendship AND irl friendship?? sign me right up wow i love this!! they're so silly and they love each other so much <3

please, please, please | bookinit/@bookinit02 | 8.7k | E

buck doesn’t touch eddie anymore. eddie’s losing it, a little bit. honestly eddie i'd lose it too. this fic combines pining and getting together and touch-starvation so basically if there was a venn diagram of my favourite fic tropes this would be right in the middle <3

red + white + boom | onlythemessenger | 3k | T

Unexpected fireworks catch Eddie off guard after a bad week. Buck and Bobby help him through the aftermath. bobbyeddie friendship my most beloved <3 love how this fic portrays them!!

this mortal coil (shuffle) | eirabach/@eirabach | 20.1k | M

Maddie was never supposed to be Buck’s mother. Eddie was never allowed to be his anything. But three minutes and seventeen seconds later, here they are. this fic hurt but in the best way. love maddie here in particular <3

this world turns over | dottie_weewoo/@dottie-wan-kenobi | 4.8k | T

Before Buck stands up fully, Eddie reaches out with his good hand to pet Christopher’s hair, pushing a few strands out of his face. “Goodnight, mijo,” he whispers, getting only a mumble in response. A soft smile steals over his face, his eyes moving from his son to Buck. “Hey, Buck?” domestic and wonderful <3 this was a lovely morning read on the bus earlier this week!!

we are bound | EiraLloyd/@unlifeira | 7.2k | T

Every human was born with a prophecy. That was the deal, or so they taught at school. But Evan knew better. He wasn’t born with a prophecy. He’d asked and asked and asked, but his parents shrugged every time, and eventually, Evan stopped asking. Why bother when he already knew the answer he’d get? i love the style and structure of this fic so so much, it's gorgeously written!! a true treat <3

you're looking like you fell in love tonight | devirnis/@devirnis | 1.1k | GA

There’s an arm slung across his waist, a head on his shoulder, soft hairs tickling the underside of his jaw. He breathes in, the cobwebs of sleep slowly dissolving in his brain, and he smells — Eddie. i did fall in love tonight and it was with this fic <3 so so lovely!!

[soleminisanction]

So a while back I ran the numbers to confirm a suspicion that fandom trends towards a trans Tim Drake, and there's a lot of bits and pieces around his canon material that I think contributes to that interest. But there's a particular, subtle one that's been poking at my mind a lot because I think it might actually be a pretty significant factor that nobody really notices:

His costumes.

The original Robin costume, the one Dick and Jason wore, is childish but exposing. It's innocent enough when they're being drawn as spunky children, but during the period when Dick's still wearing it into his late teens and early 20s, it's practically as revealing as a lot of the women's costumes (and, in retrospect, almost certainly laid some of the groundwork for him sometimes being sexualized by the art and writing the way female characters normally are -- George Pérez, at least, absolutely put him on display every bit as much as he did Starfire and Donna).

Damian's costumes, meanwhile, lean more into archaic/fantasy armor designs and are thus largely genderless outside some vague allusions to the codename's Robin Hood roots. And Steph's is, well, a minidress, and one designed to show off her figure, drawing explicit attention to her femininity.

But then you have Tim's most iconic costume, his original one, which is not only fully covering in a way the original look isn't, it also, by virtue of being designed in the 90s, sports a very specific feature: molded body armor shaped to look like pectoral and abdominal muscles. In other words -- an idealized male body.

Not every artist always included that detail, but it was an explicit part of the design that you don't see as much these days, at least not for teen heroes. Which means it's inadvertently the perfect costume for a trans masculine Boy Wonder. It's got built-in body shaping. The cape and tunic layers even help to make his shoulders look wider.

Tim's second costume, the OYL later suit, doesn't explicitly have this body shaping element, but some artists still hint at it in the same way that Dick's Nightwing suits do (ie, we assume they're not showing off their real muscles with skintight suits for safety reasons, but who knows). Plus it comes with the bonus gay longing of changing the colors to mourn the dead crush he's too deep in the closet to recognize.

And then you've got his modern Robin look which has the same kind of shaping going on in a sleaker, more subtle way, though it can vary from artist to artist how much the red part of his suit is drawn as a breast plate vs. a part of the bodysuit.

As a bonus, the design also has a tendency to make him look lean and lithe, in an interesting contrast to Damian who, despite being physically smaller than Tim, tends to have a presence that makes him come across as stockier and more solid, possibly because he's more heavily armored.

You even see this with some of Tim'snon-Robin looks. I've mentioned this elsewhere but, the original Red Robin look making him look older when the cowl was up honestly makes a lot of sense. That suit was originally designed for a Dick Grayson who was pushing 60 to conceal the extent of his age while still communicating his maturity and development. It makes sense that it'd work the other way, to make 17 year old Tim look like he's in his late 20s/early 30s.

It's tunic over a body suit design is also just aesthetically pleasing in terms of forming an elegant male body type, the same way a well-cut suit can be. Again, it does especially nice things for the shoulders, which is why I personally prefer it to the fully bodysuit redesign they give him in the latter part of the series. Although as we can see from the details in Marcus To's art, even that body suit has seams strategically placed to suggest muscles.

And then of course there's the 2016 Rebirth era Red Robin costume, which is just a more heavily-armored version of his classic Robin look that's trying really hard to make him look masculine and mature, which means... exaggerated muscles.

And the thing is, it's not that this doesn't happen with other characters' costumes. But for various reasons it specifically didn't happen with the other Robin costumes, like I described at the start.

Which is not something I think people consciously notice. But I do know that, when I was writing my transmasc Tim fanfic a few years before realizing that I myself was also transmasc, one of the images that solidified the story for me was how good it would've felt the first time a transmasc Tim put on his new Robin costume and saw the Boy Wonder looking back at him. And I remember specifically thinking about how nice the shaped armor would be for that sort of thing.

It's kinda funny how an obvious attempt to enforce gender norms wound up, for lack of a better term, backfiring, at least in my opinion. There's just something about exaggerating the masculinity of Robin, a role designed to contrast and foil the already exaggerated masculine ideal of Batman, that makes it feel like a performance.

[thebroccolination]

[FANWORK EVENT FOR THAI QL FANDOM] COMMENT CARNIVAL

DATES: February 20th-March 31st

EVENT DETAILS: Writers of all kinds thrive off feedback, and it's especially so for fic writers, since one of the main reasons we write fic in the first place is to share stories with our community. Without hearing back from the people in those communities, fic writers can get discouraged from writing and sometimes even stop entirely. On the other hand, some of the brightest, happiest moments a writer can experience come from readers. It's incomparable to know that a story you wrote made someone smile, cry, or laugh out loud, and sometimes the only way you'll know it is if a reader tells you.

With this in mind, I decided to organize a festival for the Thai QL fandom community to show our fic writers a ton of appreciation in a carnival of comments. :D

Welcome to the Comment Carnival!

NOTE: Even though this event is exclusively for the Thai QL fandom, if you'd like to use the same concept or adapt it for your own fandom, please take the idea! I'd be absolutely thrilled to see this spread and for more writers to get love for the creative work they've contributed to their spaces.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE: There are two ways to participate in the Comment Carnival. The first is simply to complete as many of the commenting tasks below as you like. That's it! You'll be boosting writers' spirits with your feedback, and you may make someone's whole day with a kind word or thought about the stories they're creating.

The second way to participate involves a chance at a prize! (Hence the carnival theme.)

Below, you'll find a list of twenty Commenting Tasks to Complete. Once you complete at least ten of those commenting tasks, you can enter into a lottery to receive your very own drabble (traditionally a 100-word morsel of fic) written by one of the carnival's participating writers! If you do all twenty, your name will go into the lottery twice!

The event begins today, and on March 31st, I'll put the qualifying participants into the Picker Wheel and choose ten winners. Those winners may then select a series from the list below along with a pairing and trope (ex: "The Heart Killers, Fadel & Bison, brotherly affection") and our participating writers will post drabbles dedicated to the winners.

COMMENT QUALIFICATIONS: For your comment to qualify for the lottery, it must include the following:

At least three sentences about the fic or how the fic made you feel. ex: "I loved the way you portrayed [character name]! I can so easily imagine them saying all of that in canon. I'm definitely going to read the rest of your fic now!"

Copy & paste one line from the fic that you enjoyed. ex: "[quoted line] I'M SCREAMING!!!"

What led you to the fic (previous familiarity with the author, a rec from someone, randomly found it on a tag, etc.) ex: "My friend sent me this and told me to read it, and I'm so happy they did!"

Essentially, the purpose of the event is to give writers some specific positive feedback. In normal circumstances, it's totally fine to leave a simple, "I loved this!" or, "Thank you for writing this!" but for this event, we're gonna go above and beyond for our beloved writers.

WHERE TO COMMENT: You can comment on any fanfiction site (Wattpad, FFN, etc.) as long as you can provide links to your comments. I've just structured the event around AO3 since that's where I'm based and have the most familiarity.

And now the fun bit!

THE COMMENTING TASKS TO COMPLETE: Comment on a…

• work-in-progress (any kind) • work-in-progress that hasn't been updated in 3 months • work-in-progress that hasn't been updated in 6 months • work-in-progress that hasn't been updated in 9 months • work-in-progress that hasn't been updated in 1 year or more • one-shot with a word count under 5k • one-shot with a word count between 5-10k • one-shot with a word count between 10k-20k • one-shot with a word count between 20k-30k • one-shot with a word count over 30k+ • completed multi-chapter fic • fic with fewer than 10 comments • fic with fewer than 5 comments • fic with no comments • fic from before 2020 • fic from 2020 • fic from 2021 • fic from 2022 • fic from 2023 • fic from 2024 • fic from 2025

To qualify for the lottery, you must provide proof of your comments in the linked form below. Provide a list of at least ten links to your posted comments, and you'll be enrolled in a lottery to win a drabble based on the series of your choice from the list below provided by our participating writers.

SUBMISSIONS: Please submit your links through the form here:

As for where to get links: on AO3, when you post your comment, you'll see a button at the bottom that says "Thread." Clicking on that will create a page that starts from your comment. You can use that link for your form.

[This is my extremely subtle way to hype @faillen's Peaceful Property fic pinkies linked, palms pressed. It's so, so, so, so good.]

COMMENTING ETIQUETTE: When commenting on fic, please abide by these three points:

Offering unsolicited criticism is widely considered to be rude, so please don't critique a fic in your comments.

If it's a work-in-progress, please don't pressure the author for more updates. That's generally not received well by writers. (If you'd like to be encouraging, err on the side of the suggestions below.)

Keep the overall tone positive!

If any comments break etiquette, they'll be disqualified.

COMMENTING SUGGESTIONS: Writers are people, and people react differently to feedback, but we do share general similarities in what we love to receive from readers. Liiike…

Copy and paste parts you particularly enjoyed: The reason I made this a requirement is because I know it's commonly adored among writers. I've had readers apologize to me for copying and pasting half the fic in my comment section. I promise and guarantee you, if you ever did this, I love you. Platonically and all-consumingly. When we're writing, we're mostly on our own in our heads, in our rooms, maybe showing a friend or two snippets as we write. But when we put fic out there, we have no idea what people are going to respond to. Sometimes your favorite line is ours, too! Or sometimes the line you loved most is a line the writer almost erased! Or a line they're second-guessing. Maybe they hate it! Having someone say, "I'll think about this line for weeks," is wonderful beyond words.

CAPSLOCK: Again, be kind, but some of my favorite comments over the years have been someone so emotional about something in the fic the whole comment is just capslock screaming.

Rambling: Listen, there is no greater feeling in the world than getting multiple comments on a fic because a reader wrote so much about the fic they went past the comment box's character limit. If a fic made you feel so much you want to ramble, then please go for it! A writer spent hours working on the thing you love! Odds are good they'll be delighted!

Characterization: For many fic writers, we're trying to emulate the characterization of a character we didn't create, so when someone says, "The way you wrote this made it feel exactly like something [character name] would say/do. You really know this character!" a lot of us are especially giddy about it.

Kindness: Above all, we're just hoping for some kind thoughts. I know how daunting it can be to share your emotional responses with writers, so you can always just say, "This meant a lot to me," or, "This made me smile," and it will mean the world to a writer.

PRIZES: As mentioned, once you submit a form with at least ten qualifying comments, you'll be entered into a lottery to win one of ten drabbles from one of our participating writers! Right now, we have writers who will write for the following series:

23.5

Bad Buddy

Between Us

Dark Blue Kiss

The Eclipse

The Heart Killers

Jack & Joker

KinnPorsche

The Loyal Pin

Manner of Death

My School President

Not Me

Only Friends

Peaceful Property

Pit Babe

SOTUS

Tale of a Thousand Stars

ThamePo Heart that Skips a Beat

This Love Doesn’t Have Long Beans

Until We Meet Again

Wandee Goodday

If you're a writer interested in volunteering to write a drabble for a series we haven't provided, please DM me. :)

Even if you don't intend on participating, please please please reblog this and get the word out that it's happening.

Thank you!

Special thanks to my writing server on Discord for their brainstorming, their advice, and their suggestions to put this event together. <3

[brandileigh2003]

Older wolfstar fic recs: (older in age that is)

let me know what I missed and self recs are welcome (also as always check tags for each one to protect yourself)

~~~please give these authors love, fandom engagement with writers is down and it means more than you know. ~~~

**And I know older is relative term bc most of these wolfstar are in their 30s I do believe. But. They have more life experience than in Hogwarts or uni so I counted it.

--orange juice (i've been ready for you to come home for so long) by raggedypond: @fortunatelyfuzzywombat divorced parents of teddy with one bed at his graduation

-Honey If I'm Not by @brigid-faye divergent post war where remus left, jily lived, and wolfstar only reconnects years later by chance. (Also has a Sirius pov)

---used my best colours for your portrait by @littleoldrachel lie low at Lupin's with flashbacks exploring remus' life

-Looking for Moony by Writer_INFJ_2w1: meet and fall in love birthday party

-Flight of Destiny by @lucigoo lesbian wolfstar meet on plane (Luci also has several others where they're older and lots of beautiful fics

--Aging Gracelessly by orphan_account: texting fic

--the mayors of simpleton by fruity_individual divorced wolfstar get back together, raising teddy

-Second Generation by MsAlexWP single parents, getting back together. The sequel is so perfect too! It's a Nice Day for a Wolfstar Wedding

-the sea is a good place to think of the future by peachyybabe (second in series is mcd but this one is open ending)

-Of Memories and Milk Thievery by moonymoment raising teddy, get back together

--Birthday Blues by YouBlitheringIdiot @blitheringmcgonagall :Sirius is turning sixty and he is appalled...

--Give Quarter to Old Men - @krethes series

--dear your holiness by mollymarymarie

--The Postwar Chronicles by @sliebman10 post canon series

-Vigil Strange I Kept by whitmans_kiss explores effects of lycanthropy

--ten reasons (to go to michigan) by @greyeyedmonster-18 remus headed home, trying to move on from divorce

--Prettiest Star Verse by Raging_queer

-I didn’t sign up for this by Moonystoastandmarsbar divorced wolfstar

-Of Protein Powders and PTAs by @squintclover and @tracingpatternswrites rivals to lovers

-An Infinte Ocean by orphan_account raising teddy strangers to lovers

--The Road Not Taken by @mollymarymarie

-extra credit by MsAlexWP rivals to lovers

-Baby On Board by aqua_myosotis

-Of Memories, Bitter and Sweet by MsAlexWP memory loss

**luci's recs

-my love, take care of yourself by littleoldrachel

-How to romance a guy with (terrible) poetry by BayleyWinchester

-Teddy Plays Matchmaker by grow_as_we_go

-The Front Step Surprise by R33sesPieces

**Recs from others** (I haven't read all these yet but wanted to include)

--Just what the doctor ordered by WrappedUp (be aware there is age gap)

--The Lab by de_sire again an age gap

-Till We Have Arrived Home Again by prouvairing divergent post canon raising harry

-The Patchwork of Us by TracingPatterns

-The Things I Did by Lolo_row

-The Phoenix Agency by LupinsChocolatePraline

-The Fall by EuripidesTrousers

-Pages of You by wolfpants this is drarry main but apparently background wolfstar is really good

-Just Like Heaven by the_prettiest_w0lf_star: mechanic Sirius and librarian Remus

-soloorganaas

-impishtubist

---new additions--

•too busy being yours by peachyybabe ft deaf remus and fluff

***Self rec***

--Memories of You: mcd exploring memory loss

--Through the Years: Sirius thinks about the past and how handsome his husband is while holding their granddaughter.

--DN(R): Lie low at Lupin's era where they discuss decisions Remus made in the lost years.

•Silver fox fluffy 1 shot

**also- the wolfstar librarian is always a great resource make sure to give some likes on posts: 30yo and Up part 2 Bring Black Back Back from the Veil Lie Low at Lupin’s Post Azkaban Grimmauld Place

--Feel free to check my other rec lists, as well as the rest of my fics

--also ... This is list of canon divergent fic recs: post-azkaban, bring back black, lie low at lupins. Lots of same fics but I might not have all in both places.

[epickiya722]

The more time passes, the more I came to realize that some people in this fandom really have mischaracterized Midoriya and not understand that he has many, many layers.

Flawed writing or not, I feel like there are some parts of the manga that are easy to understand what kind of person he is and yet...

It's not that people lack reading comprehension skills. I just think some people choose not to use them because Midoriya isn't a character that they care for or the canon version of him isn't the fanon version they cooked up in their head.

Like, a while back like a couple of days ago I saw someone say that Midoriya is "too forgiving" towards Bakugou and that's something I have seen before.

(I touched on this in a previous post.)

I disagree. I disagree so much.

I feel like the fandom sees that Midoriya is a "nice guy" and immediately equals that to being "too forgiving".

It does not.

Just because Midoriya isn't an asshole, or vindictive or cursing out Katsuki or anybody every ten minutes that doesn't mean he's "too forgiving".

He never gave excuses to Bakugou's behavior. In fact, when they have their first fight he straight up tells him he won't be his punching bag anymore.

For that first half of the series, despite do caring about Bakugou, Midoriya does go as far as to keeping his distance. At best, he makes comments but that don't really come off as him validating Bakugou's behavior. Watch the earlier episodes, you'll see sometimes that Midoriya expresses shock. That's because they're now surrounded by other students who aren't brushing off Bakugou's earlier behavior.

Note that though, during times like that when we do get inner dialogue from Midoriya it is very, very brief.

It's something that continues on. Despite him being our MC, Midoriya doesn't really have a lot of inner thoughts revealed. Most of the time, he narrates the story.

That would also include his feelings towards Bakugou. We actually don't know exactly when Midoriya forgave him because we don't get that thought from him. Let alone, I don't think he really expressed it verbally.

Now, I do believe he did forgive Bakugou. Just not as early as some people think.

To me, it's what sticks out and why I say he has layers.

He's an unreliable narrator in his own story. He doesn't share his thoughts with the audience a lot. A lot of what is interpreted about Midoriya within the story comes from other characters and how they interact with him.

Again, Midoriya has those layers.

We see that he is nice and kind, but he's not above it all. People (annoyingly) call him a crybaby, but Midoriya has a range of emotions that sometimes put other characters to shame. While Midoriya may not go around yelling at people, he is also an angry person.

He is indeed quick to anger and we see this plenty of times.

While he's strategic, Midoriya is also impulsive and reckless. Like, he can be a crashout.

While he's caring, he can also be cold.

While Midoriya may want to connect and understand people, he doesn't allow people to understand him because he isn't open about himself.

Midoriya is a lot of things and then some.

Just because he inhabits one trait, doesn't mean he can't inhabit its counterpart. And just because he doesn't express his inner thoughts, doesn't mean he has or hasn't had a specific thought.

Thinking about it, and I would say it's a stretch, because it's so often we do see this with Midoriya... maybe, just maybe... Horikoshi had the intentions for the audience to theorize on what Midoriya may be thinking and try to see that through his actions. To understand him without knowing what he's thinking, but observe what he is saying and doing.

Because, sometimes to know a person may be thinking, you have to try to figure it out through their behavior. That's a real life skill that Horikoshi maybe, again maybe now, wanted us as the audience to apply here.

[the-fab-fox]

Okay so this has been something I've been chewing on for a long while. About making this post I mean.

This one is to those who actively ingest fanfiction but seem to think it's okay to just read free fiction that people have put time and thought and crafted prose for your enjoyment and do nothing in return.

All we ever ask for and all we ever want is for y'all to AT THE VERY LEAST hit that kudos button if you like the work. That is the BARE MINIMUM of what you SHOULD be doing. Especially all of you who say you're too nervous to comment or don't wish to be perceived. And if you don't want your account on the list, you can log out and send a guest kudos.

But as I said, BARE MINIMUM. If you loved the fic, if you got something out of it that left you feeling good and energized (or whatever angst does for y'all) then I want to take a moment and strongly urge you to comment, subscribe (if a wip), and bookmark those works. Did you know there's an option to even mark it as a Fic Recommendation? You can put notes in to and say why you liked it and things like that (DO NOT DO A RATING IN PUBLIC BOOKMARKS HOWEVER). And, you can indeed make them private! The writer still gets the number added to their stats but your bookmark we won't see.

Anyway, I now wanna turn your attention to Exhibit A:

This is a list of my best performing fics. Do you see the problem with this? The green highlights are the hits I've received for those fics. The red is the Kudos and comment threads. Now the kudos is obviously right?

Let's look at my number one fic right now, Accidentally in Love (a Malleyuu fic from Twisted Wonderland fandom). It's the seventh fic in a romance series. As you can see, it's doing great as far as hits, right? And I know it's an amazing fic from the comments I have received and just from rereading it myself. Note, I am probably the biggest bully to myself as @sunshineandteddybears and @mellosdrawings and @romantichopelessly can tell you in great detail. So when I am saying it's really damn good, you can probably trust it's gonna be pretty damn good. And yet, a fic that has 4K hits only has 119 kudos. And now to bring your attention to the comment threads. So honestly with how bad readers are on actually commenting (which by the way if you log off you can send anonymously as a guest—you'll have to put in your email address but we authors won't see that)... 107 seems pretty good right? But you guys don't see that. You see what's on the info for the story. Unfortunately, on the fic info at the top of the story, it counts every single comment (including the Author's). (The comment threads is just every single starting comment, i.e. the first comment received from each commenter.)

The thing is, I—and probably quite a few other writers—do respond to every single comment.

So that means where the info on my fic itself says 230 comments, in reality, I'm at half that when I subtract my half of the comments. So that's actually 115 comments from other people. So some people might see that 230 and think oh they got a lot of comments so I don't think they want to hear from me or I can't be fucked and they're already doing good so.

NO. NO. NO. Do not look at the numbers as a guide if a fic is good or not. Do not look at the numbers and think that we don't need or deserve to get any more. And finally WE WANT TO HEAR FROM Y'ALL.

Excuses need to stop.

Speaking of numbers. Here's my over all stats current on AO3.

In the 3 years on this AO3 account (I've had others in the past and accounts on ff.net and live journal. I'm an oldie fanfic writer lol. 21 years of fanfic. My gods. 🤣) It didn't used to be like this guys. Back in the day I'd get 12 plus comments on a chapter and this is on stuff a teenager wrote.

We have got to get back to the point of supporting each other and building each other up. Also while I'm at it, I have a huge beef with the fact that fanartists get so much more positive feedback and replies and comments, but the thing is, even their numbers are skewed. You can go into the notes of a fanart on here that has 10k notes to see they have maybe 100-1K reblogs (if that, I'm being generous) and maybe 10 or so replies (if turned on) and the rest are all likes. EVERYONE has been on here long enough by now to know that likes do nothing to get a post in the algorithm and tags only do so much. Reblogs are the only way their art (or our fanfictions for people who post them on here) gets seen! By sharing!

So y'all gotta get better. Yes, we write for ourselves first, but ultimately a story is meant to be shared with everyone and feedback should not be optional if you're actively reading the fics or viewing the art for free and enjoyed it!

TLDR:

IF YOU FUCKING LIKE A FANFIC. KUDOS AT THE VERY LEAST BUT BE BETTER. COMMENT. BOOKMARK. SUBSCRIBE IF IT'S A WIP YOU LOVE. (Like, comment and reblog if on Tumblr)

IF YOU FUCKING LIKE A FANART ON TUMBLR. COMMENT. LIKE. REBLOG.

DO BETTER AS READERS AND US WRITERS AND ARTISTS WILL GIVE YOU THE WORLD (AND MANY OTHER WORLDS TO BOOT)

That is all. Please reblog the fuck out of this if you agree.

(and tagging my current and last fandoms so this can get in fandom spaces where it needs to be.)

[queen-morgana91]

The fact that certain people dislike Aang because

"He's a pacifist" - he's a monk, guys. Horrifying. Also being a pacifist is a crime it seems. Killing people and starting wars is more cool

"He's childish" - he's 12 🤦‍♂️ he matured a lot during the series and he was forced to grow up quickly like the rest of the gaang. Let alone that most of the time is copyng mechanism, he's dealing with his trauma is his own way

"He didn't kill ozai" - ah yes, still missing the point of the series in 2024. He’s the LAST airbender of a genocided culture. The way this fandom don’t value culture is insane. Which character in this series was ever asked to fore sake their culture? yeah, no one. Aang isn’t wrong for preserving his, stfu

"He had it easy" - the GENOCIDE SURVIVOR had it easy, ok. The lion turtle didn’t give Aang an easy way out. It gave him a choice, after that Aang, the AVATAR aka half spirit, prayed for it. He said he would have killed Ozai if he had no other option and he almost killed him in their fight, but he decided to stay true to himself and to preserve his culture. Aang almost died to take away Ozai's bending, easy my ass. You wanted him to be a cold blooded murderer? watch another series

"He has no development/growth" - sigh. Did we watch the same series? some of you think that you have development if you change personality/beliefs 🤦‍♂️ Aang has a GREAT character development. He makes choices that push him in a way that allows him to move beyond what people, his past lives included, expect of him. He became far more mature and he accepted his role as the Avatar and his responsabilities for the sake of the world. The reason his beliefs never changed is because many characters pressure him to give up his core values which come from a genocided culture. The air nomads, who raised him. If the only way you know of character development/growth is them being forced to change their fundamental beliefs, you don't know what character development means. Aang is the Avatar the world needed and he put an end to the cycles of hatred

"Aang values his culture above other cultures" - lol no he doesn't. Not only Aang is extremely respectful of other cultures (if you talk about the sea prunes again, i swear) but he values his culture because.....again, it was genocided. He never hold it above other cultures, but uses his own to make his own decisions, which is different. Mind you, other characters in the series hold their beliefs above his and dismiss his (Zuko was one of them btw). The adults, like general Fong, literally forced Aang to use violence and the Avatar state. But sure let's ignore it

"He's too perfect/he makes many mistakes" - make up your mind. Not even his haters know wtf they're talking about

"He has a crush on Katara" - how inconceivable. Damn, i'm still traumatized. Also Katara has the audacity to love him back. Horrifying

And then the shipping reasons....yeah i'm not gonna bother here, braindead takes from delusional people

All opinions that i will never ever take seriously, sorry

Free Aang

[oonajaeadira]

@jolapeno is encouraging us all to list the favorite things we've made this year. And @sixhours and @jeewrites are superlative humans and they have tagged me and I am grateful for that!

I'm not gonna lie, y'all. When I'm asked to reflect on what I've created in the fandom this year...well, "depressed" is a word I could use.

But. It's been such a lovely year in the fandom. We were treated to a Fox, a Roman general, a boy-who-never-grew-up, and a penis collector, not to mention the promise of a very flexible scientific-genius wifeguy and sneak peeks of everyone's favorite melancholy apocalypse survivor.

Thank you to everyone who was helping us keep a lookout for nasty folks and helping to combat deplorable behaviors, and thank you to everyone who did their part keeping spirits bright.

And I will be forever grateful for @pedroscouts and @pedrosummercamp ...it literally gave me something to focus on when my days were running away from me and introduced me to some really sassy and hilarious new friends. <3

Still. 2024 put me through a professional and emotional wringer. So. Here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna list my wins. First, we'll start with what Jo asked for!

PEDRO PASCAL CHARACTER FANFICTION

Okay. So the rules said it had to be a finished project. Playing by the rules, I would have nothing to post. Nothing. Zero. Zilch. Poop. So, in the interest of choosing joy, breaking the rules it is!

Fluffbruary Six-Sentence Ficlets - multiple I tried, y'all. I tried real hard. I got through 15! And I was making a new header for each one! And then life got real busy and I had to stop. But I have every prompt assigned and I decided I'm gonna reblog the first half and post the second half this February. I know they're not a popular series, but they make me happy, so they're getting doing!

Leave Off Your Wandering - Joel Technically, I did finish this one, since I had always planned for it to be just the four parts. But at the end of the Winter chapter, I realized it needed an epilogue, so there's another chapter coming. And it's not far off. I may finish it before the end of the year and then it will really not be a lie. But first.....

That Awooo Inside You (Part 1, Part 2) - Fink This may not qualify yet, but the final chapter will be finished before the end of the year. I have it half written and there's a chapter pic ready to go. Proof:

.

And that's mainly it. I did write some pieces for @morallyinept's spooky moodboards as well and really enjoyed that! But that's been what I've been able to do. So to combat the whomp whomp in my heart about it, I include here another list after the tags.

tagging! @katareyoudrilling @secretelephanttattoo @fromthedeskoftheraven @goodwithcheese @walkingaline

And you!

Your Favorite Things 2024 with Jo

PROFESSIONAL CHECKLIST OF 2024

(Pedro girlies can stop reading here. This is solely for me to really take account of and be proud of everything I accomplished this year, but also to let it soak in that I do not want another year like this again.)

JANUARY:

Researched, wrote, developed, costumed and constructed [solo show]

Performed [solo show] in Minneapolis for a limited group

Performed one night in an Off-Book quest slot performance

Performed [solo show] in Tuscon

FEBRUARY:

Prepared for the hellish year to come

MARCH:

Helped to develop new script for [indie company]

APRIL:

Directed new script for [indie company]

Developed, costumed, constructed and performed a short detailed piece for a fundraiser by a company I dearly love and hope to work for

MAY:

Continuance and opening of new script production for [indie company]

Both managing and guest performing in a large fundraiser show for my work

JUNE:

Performing [solo show] in Atlanta

Performing as part of a trio in a long-form improv production in Atlanta

Directing a brand new set of 5 trateau pieces for a company I dearly love

JULY:

Trateau rehearsal continues

AUGUST:

Trateau performances

Huge annual arts event that my work actually centers around

SEPTEMBER:

Travel to Sweden and Finland for work

Travel to Sweden and Denmark for pleasure (first time out of the US since 2019, so it was an accomplishment for me)

Start work on a project that will require me to direct, create, costume, design, manage, market, and help write five separate 60-mintue shows that will all perform within one week of each other

OCTOBER:

Aforementioned 5-show nightmare rehearsals and marketing continue

Performed in all 5 shows

Coordinated an 11-day pop-up market during that same week which included a complete (floor, ceiling, walls) set-dressing of a small room, while being the proprietor and coordinator of all sellers and wares

NOVEMBER:

Died a little inside

Cleaned my studio for the first time in a year

DECEMBER:

Started rehearsals for a show I'll act/sing in this spring, one that will be stress free and a fkn joy and everything that 2024 was not.

[disregardcanon]

this probably seems like a weird question from your end,but why do fanfic writers care so much about comments? aos already tracks hits and likes, sorry ""kudos"", so why are comments such a big deal to the point that people will stop writing?

okay, so i'm going to take this question very seriously and i promise it's not to make you feel bad. this is a comprehensive explanation of reasons that comments are important for me, both as a writer and as a reader

engagement vs numbers game

seeing trends

buy-in

community building

engagement vs numbers game

let's look quickly at two different fics of mine. this is the kudos count for a fic called Of First Kisses and Burnt Lips

it's old. it's been up on ao3 for almost 11 years now. 258 people liked it enough to leave a kudos, 12 people liked it enough for a bookmark, and it's been clicked on 3,859 times.

i have no clue what almost any of these people on ao3 THINK about it. beyond "huh. sure. i'll kudos that". compare this to its crosspost on ffn, where i got 5 reviews

3/5 mention it being cute. 3/5 give appreciation to me for taking the time to write it. 2/5 praise the writing itself from the attention to detail with grammar to the craft. 1/5 is an "um..." which is hard to decipher but appreciate and 1/5 is a silly reaction, but it's a reaction! look, someone felt a felling reading my thing! that made me giggle!

looking at the stats here from a purely numbers perspective, my fic DID better on ao3. it got a lot more kudos than it ever got faves or reviews on ffn. but those ffn comments are still what i think about when i remember this fic.

sure, a shear number like hits or kudos can be comforting and motivating. i'm definitely not telling you to NOT leave kudos! but the fics that i've come back to, recently, are the ones where i don't have a lot of kudos but i do have a few people who are invested in the stories and leaving comments to tell me

2. seeing trends

lets look at a few of the comments on my fic The Maid of Honor Made Them Do It

so just in these two comments, we see both commenters hone in on the same detail: my choice to include a special christian music playlist that this characters' friends made for her. a few other people in this thread mentioned that same detail, so i know this bit really worked well! it's great feedback that lets me know that a good chunk of readers agree with my characterization here.

these readers zoom in on specific details that they really liked! things that made them laugh, the absurdity of the concept, enjoying reading it, and that they could see it staged, which is a HUGE compliment for a work in a fandom for theater.

i've always had trouble with imaging where characters are in a space, how they're occupying it and moving, and how to use that for characterization purposes. however, i got more than one comment on this fic about how people could see it staged! that means that i'm improving in an area that i've always struggled with. that's huge. it makes me want to keep working on this thing! it makes me feel like what i'm doing here matters, because lots of people are picking up on similar things! they're invested enough to give me a comment! and it makes me want to keep writing for the hatchetfield fandom because some people are invested in my work here. that is BIG! seeing trends in the way that readers experience your story helps a lot with writer buy-in for a project and also for writers self-analysis.

as a commenter: this helps me JUST as much. when i really dig into what i enjoyed about a fic to tell the writer about it, that helps me analyze and articulate the strengths and things i might want to take away from the storytelling, and that makes my writing better too!

3. buy-in

this is a comment on a series that has less than 100 kudos across three fics, but has thoughtful, appreciative comments on each work. it's called Melting Pot

the commenter deleted their ao3 account. they may be one of the people who commented on the next fic, which i posted recently. they might NOT have been! honestly, it doesn't matter that much to me. this person gave me a gentle and nudge about a fic that matters to me and mattered to them at the time, and they were part of the push i needed to get back to it.

from a commenter perspective, i know that hearing a kind word can help someone keep up their motivation to write, even when i can't write in depth comments the way that i like to!

just recently i only had the time to comment "nice update" on a favorite fic of mine called Teeth That Turn. but they know that i come and i read and they know and talk to me by (user)name. because they know i care about this thing they care about! and it's way more fun to do something like this when i know i can chat with the author about theories and thoughts and ideas. and this isn't a "wow aren't i so cool other writers like me! tehehe" bragging thing, it's just evidence for the case of why comments matter?

if i didn't want this to be a two way buy-in, i'd ONLY read published fiction, you know? we're all playing in the sandbox on the playground and i like what they made. they like that i like what they made :) we're scheduling a play date to fight with sticks after school my mom said it's okay!

4. community building

now i know that i just mentioned above here why i like being a commenter and how it helps authors, as well as why i like HAVING commenters as an author. i'm still arguing those things as a lead up to this section, where i have two other points to make about community building here too.

1. you can comment on OTHER comments! if you go through and read to see what other people are saying, you can agree with them. you can add some commentary! sometimes you can make a joke! and i've only ever had fun responses from something like that. authors tend to love that their fics are getting such a response that people are talking to each other about it! like look!!!!!! my thing got you to talk to someone else about it holy shit?!??!

2. commenting on fics in your fandom builds you a good reputation and makes other authors you comment on more likely to read YOUR fic. i'm not going to post any screenshots on this one because it would be embarrassing for everyone involved, but there have been authors that i really admired who gave my stuff a try after i commented on theirs. and they've told me that's why they tried it! like obviously it's not just networking or whatever, but it's really nice to have someone give your stuff a try because you've been enthusiastic and thoughtful about theirs.

and you make friends this way! fandom friends! who want to talk about your blorbos! you get to go on little play dates in cyberspace with cool people who like what you like. you don't ever HAVE to be a writer, of course. if you don't want to throw your hat into the ring or make art or edits or gif sets or anything, that's cool. no one ever has to participate in fandom outside of their comfort zone! but if you want to, you know that you'll feel more welcomed if you have some people in your corner for it, and making friends in a space, screaming about how much you love the characters you love, and remembering that fic authors especially are just fans too will help you feel like you "deserve" to exist in the space. maybe you don't write, but you go here too. you've got a space in the fandom and your comments don't have to be, like, perfect literary essays for authors to appreciate them and get a motivation boost from them still existing and us being able to go back to them and go!!! look!!! i don't suck!!! this person liked what i did so i'm okay! :)

[saintvainglorious]

My First Fanbind! A Black Sails Fic Anthology Series

It took me a year (and a lot of anxious research) before I worked up the courage to bookbind fanfiction, and after months of on-again-off-again work, my first fanbind is finally done!

I knew that if I was going to bookbind fic, I had to bind something from the Black Sails fandom, aka the fandom and show that have had the biggest impact on my life. Y'all, I almost went into academia to study slavery in the 17th-18th century Caribbean because of this show - when folks say this show rewires your brain chemistry, they are NOT kidding. THEE show of all time. Happy 10th anniversary to Black Sails! This fandom is small but mighty. May we continue to get our hearts and souls blasted to smithereens by this show for many years to come.

Ao3 abounds with magnificent Black Sails oneshots, so I decided to put together an anthology of my favorite Silverflint fics under 20k, which I split into two volumes. Included are works by @justlikeeddie, @vowel-in-thug, @balloonstand, @annevbonny, @francisthegreat, @nysscientia, and more! Thank you, thank you all, you brilliant wonderful people, for gracing the Internet with such amazing writing. When I read the fics in these anthologies I want to fling myself into the sun.

More on the design and binding process below the cut!

Vol. 1 Page Count: 270 (12 fics) Vol. 2 Page Count: 248 (11 fics) Body Font: Sabon Next LT (10.5 pt) Title Font: Goudy Old Style Other Fonts: IM Fell English, pirates pw

The typeset (which I did in Word) took a while, mainly because I'd never done it before. Manually adjusting the hyphenation line-by-line was especially tedious. After making these books, I abandoned Word in favor of InDesign, in large part because InDesign gives you way finer control over your justification and hyphenation settings.

Regarding my actual design choices, I'm happy with how the ocean motif on the title page turned out (it's not the same pattern as my endpapers, but they're complimentary) and I'm very fond of my divider dingbats, which are little swords! Goudy Old Style was a fun title font to use, since it's the font that Black Sails uses as its logo. The stories in Vol. 1 are divided into parts based on what Silver WAS at that point in the show (cook, quartermaster, or king), and Vol. 2 is split up into comedies, histories (AUs set in the canon universe) and tragedies - befitting Black Sails' Shakespearean ~vibes~.

I stuck to a flatback binding, as I wasn't feeling quite ambitious enough to try rounding and/or backing. I've learned that I ~Anakin Skywalker voice~ hate sanding, enjoy folding/sewing, and don't LIKE edge trimming but enjoy the results enough to make it worth it.

The real adventure was decorating the cover, which remained bare for months. After agonizing over Illustrator and experimenting unsuccessfully with HTV and lokta paper embossing, I ultimately turned to using stencil vinyl to paint on the designs. There was a bit of seepage under some of the stencils, but I was able to scrape off the excess with my Cricut weeding tool without damaging the coated surface of the bookcloth (probably Arrestox Blue Ribbon from Hollander's). Even though it was very time-consuming, I'm so happy with the end result of the stenciled paint job and I intend to stick with stencils for my foreseeable future binds.

Are there things I would change? Sure. It was humid out when I printed, so the pages have got a wave. There’s an extra two pages in Vol 2. that I have no idea how I missed, and I got a line of glue in the middle of one of my Vol. 2 endpapers. I’m pretty sure I didn’t case in quite right, since my endpapers pull away from the case at the spine. I think the inner margins are a bit too big, and despite going line-by-line there’s still some wacky justification spacing in the typeset. But man, am I proud of these books! It is so satisfying to learn a new skill - MANY new skills, if we’re being honest - and to make something both beautiful and practical. If I’m still binding in two years or so, I can see myself redoing the typeset in InDesign, cutting out the existing text block, and reusing the cases. I’m also already planning for Vol. 3, which will be Silverflint Modern AUs.

Thanks for reading!

[slitheringghost]

Making Sense of Lily's Last Moments

Lily Evans is textually and in fandom lauded for her sacrifice, but if you stop and really think about it, Lily's last moments are extremely bizarre, and, to be frank, make her seem kind of incompetent rather than the battle hardened soldier she was:

1. She doesn't have her wand on her when Voldemort is hunting her family down and they could be in danger any moment, which is insanely careless (James does have his, even though he leaves it for just a couple moments just as Voldemort arrives)

2. She wastes precious time blocking the door with cardboard boxes when she knows Voldemort can just wave them away and then more precious time trying to reason with Lord fucking Voldemort despite having wandless magic abilities, begging Voldemort for mercy when the entire reason they've been in hiding for a year is because they all know that, y'know, Voldemort has no mercy (And Lily, the Muggleborn, who has lost the most to this war, knows this better than anyone)

As I explain in this post, we have similar scenarios in which the characters do fight - Amelia Bones "put up a real fight” against Voldemort. Bellatrix uses knives as backup when disarmed of her wand. Dobby saves Harry via wandless magic in the same book we see Lily’s death and her controlling wandless magic at 9. Harry avoids curses from Voldemort/Bellatrix/other Death Eaters by hiding behind stuff. Bellatrix initially escapes Dumbledore who's the better duelist over Voldemort, etc. So while escape is highly unlikely, isn't impossible either. And there's no way Lily wouldn't go down fighting if she had the option.

There's a lot of moments in the series where we as readers go "well why didn't the characters just do XYZ instead, it's such an obvious answer!" especially with how limitless magic in HP is. But I generally assume there's some in-universe reason that would make the characters' choices make sense rather than just accepting that they're stupid and incompetent.

I'm constantly on my soapbox about how fandom should adapt the interpretation that Lily had a plan and did dark magic to save Harry and to defeat Voldemort, which is my personal reading of the text However, if I haven't convinced you on that (...yet), here are some possible ways to fill in the gaps and make Lily's choices seem less strange. (Even if you don't think the canon version makes her look incompetent, these are just fun ideas to play with regardless!)

Why Lily didn't have her wand

Lily's wand broke at some point during a particular dangerous experiment. We have canon examples - Ron's wand in CoS, Harry's in DH (How did Voldemort's wand survive the blast if his body evaporated and end up with him in GoF then? Who knows...). Realistically, the Order would prioritize getting Lily a new wand ASAP because it's so obviously necessary, so maybe it happened close-ish to Halloween and they didn't have the time or opportunity. It could be an interesting parallel to Harry's own powerlessness in DH without his phoenix wand.

@keepmycandleburning's explanation in her fic I'm quicker includes a dark interpretation of James and Lily's marriage, where James took Lily's wand hostage as a method of abuse.

Why Lily didn't fight with wandless magic

Despair and depression can sap your magical power - examples include Merope, Tonks, dementors affecting the magical power of Azkaban prisoners', etc. Perhaps Lily had post-partum depression which sapped her wandless powers, or even just the general despair of fear for Harry's and her own and her loved ones' lives, being trapped in hiding, her family and other friends being dead, etc. Also interesting because until then Lily had a safety net compared to a lot of other Muggleborns - who were in constant fear of having their wands taken away and no wandless magic to fall back on - due to her magical power, but she ultimately ends up deprived of that too.

I still think Lily would've tried, like, anything else other than the cardboard box thing and begging Voldemort, but at least this makes her actions less weird and more like the brilliant witch we know she was.

[yomigaere]

Regarding Touga's age in flashbacks

Touga appears as a child in two significant flashbacks in the series: in episode 9 where he and Saionji find Utena hiding in a coffin after she just lost her parents, and in episode 10 where Nanami gives him a kitten for his birthday, with all that that ended up tragically entailing. (It may be worth noting at this early point that neither of these flashbacks are from Touga's own point of view; ep 9's is Saionji's memory of the event, and ep 10's is of course Nanami's memories.)

The assumption I've seen throughout the entire fandom is that Touga is younger in Nanami's flashback, in which he has short hair, and a bit older in the coffin flashback, in which he has long hair. It's a perfectly reasonable and logical assumption, and one that I wouldn't question either -- if not for two things.

The first of those two things is head writer Enokido's notes on Touga; to sum them up very briefly for those who don't already know, they say his unpleasant backstory as depicted in the movie was also intended to have been his series self's backstory, with some additional details included to account for Nanami and Saionji. A specific point from both these notes and the movie itself is that Touga was ordered by his original parents to grow his hair out, as that was what Mr Kiryuu wanted. If we take Enokido's comments on Touga's backstory as applicable to the series canon -- as I personally do, as it heavily informs my entire reading of Touga as a character -- then they need to be reconciled with what's depicted in the series itself in one way or another.

The second thing is simply that I noticed some curiosities in the series character design sheets, which I'll go into past the readmore. Before that, I just want to pose the question I'm exploring here in the first place:

Could Touga have actually been younger in the coffin flashback than in Nanami's flashback?

Please note that this is more of a thought experiment than anything; I'm not trying to push this as The Actual Canon Truth, even if this does inform my personal headcanons regarding Touga's (and Nanami's and Saionji's) history. I just want to put forward some bits of evidence with my own thoughts and speculation on them. Without further ado...

First up, here's one of the design sheets for Touga and Nanami as kids from ep 10's flashback:

It says that Touga was 12 and Nanami was still 7 (keeping in mind that her birthday is a couple of months after his). I personally think they both look a bit younger than those stated ages, but I digress.

It could possibly be said that whoever added the notes on these design sheets might be pulling the characters' childhood ages out of thin air, but evidence that Touga is intended to be 12 here did make it into the episode itself:

Twelve candles on a cake for a kid's 12th birthday would make a lot of sense.

Meanwhile, here's the full-body design sheet for Touga and Saionji as kids from ep 9's flashback:

This one doesn't give any ages for the boys; I'm mainly posting it here for the sake of comparison. Your mileage may vary on which version of child Touga looks older or younger, and I'm a little back-and-forth on the matter myself; that said, it does strike me how dainty he looks in the design sheet for the coffin flashback, though I wonder if it might just be because of his clothes.

What had me questioning Touga's (and Saionji's) age in the coffin flashback in the first place is that, in the manga, it's stated that Utena was 6 years old when her parents died. That would've made the boys about 9 at the time, as they're three years older than her. Having said that, though, the manga and anime are different continuities with different takes on a lot of things, so just because the manga says one thing doesn't mean it definitely applies to the anime version as well. So how old was child Utena in the anime, then?

As with the boys, the design sheet for Utena's appearance in the coffin flashback doesn't specify an age for her, either. This would ostensibly make their ages at the time ambiguous -- but I'm not giving up here. There's another character who was a similarly-aged child at the time.

Anthy appears as a child in flashbacks in episode 34, one of which takes place very shortly after ep 9's coffin flashback. According to the design sheet, she was 7 years old at the time, and she's noted to be the same height as child Utena. Therefore, I find it reasonable to conclude that Utena was also about 7 years old when she lost her parents, which would've made Touga and Saionji around 10 at the time.

That's the evidence I'm putting forward to support the possibility of Touga being younger in the coffin flashback than in Nanami's flashbacks, with the admitted underlying assumption that the design sheets can be used as reliable sources for characters' ages as children. I think it would address discrepencies in his hair length with regards to his backstory as given by Enokido, but there's still a couple of other things that ought to get a closer look in that case.

All of Nanami's childhood photos of herself and Touga that we see in episode 31 show him with short hair. What's with that?

My speculation on this is that Touga deliberately curated the photo album so that it would only show him with short hair as a kid, in order to hide the reality of his and Nanami's situation as "adopted" kids sold to a paedophile from her. It probably helps that in all these photos, he and Nanami look roughly the same as they did in her flashback in ep 10, suggesting that they could all be from around that time. I've also considered the possibility that there could be some Mamiya-esque shenanigans surrounding the photos (in that they're showing a falsehood, like the photo of the fake Mamiya that turns into one showing his real self during Mikage's duel), but that feels like too much of a stretch to me.

It's also possible that Nanami might be misremembering Touga's hair length in her flashbacks in the first place; the Kaoru twins offer precedent for this, as their "Sunlit Garden" flashbacks in episode 5 show Kozue with a completely different hairstyle depending on whether it's Miki or her remembering that time. Personally, though, I find it more likely that Touga really did have short hair at the time, especially if we assume from everything I gave further up in this post that he'd just turned 12. Apologies for the horrible following thought, but I wonder if, by the time Touga had reached that age, he was getting a bit too old for Mr Kiryuu's sick tastes...

Putting that nastiness aside, there's one more flashback involving Touga I want to talk about, and it's one I wouldn't even have thought to include if I hadn't rewatched the episode it appears in recently: Tsuwabuki's flashback from episode 6! (Always leave it to the comedy episodes to surprise you!)

Tsuwabuki is presumably in preschool here based on his clothes, Nanami is in the girls' elementary school uniform, and Touga is in the standard boys' uniform as worn by middleschoolers and highschoolers. For all this to line up, I think their most likely ages here are 5-6 for Tsuwabuki, 8-9 for Nanami (putting her in third grade) and 12-13 for Touga (putting him in seventh grade, or his first year of middle school as per the Japanese school system).

Yet Touga has long hair here! If he had short hair when he'd just turned 12, how could it have grown out so much in only a year or so? (To say nothing of the growth spurt he seems to have had in that time...) I could chalk things up to Tsuwabuki idealising him as a big strong older brother in his memory -- middle school Touga apparently fought off a great big rampaging bull, after all -- which would explain why he looks basically the same here as he does as a highschooler. That said, Touga doesn't necessarily need to have had long hair in order for Tsuwabuki to idealise him the way he does; I doubt his hair length matters too much either way for that, so I don't see any reason for Tsuwabuki to misremember his hair in particular. This could lend some credence to the idea that Nanami misremembers Touga's hair length in her own flashback, but I question that for the reasons I already gave further up.

(As an aside: it might just be a matter of the lighting in that specific shot, but had Touga already dyed his trademark lighter streak in his hair in Tsuwabuki's flashback? He noticably doesn't have his highlight in either of the flashbacks with him as a child, which the design sheets for both of them make a specific point of noting. I might talk about the possible significance of his highlight in a different post.)

I think that's about it for my rambling and speculation on this, at least for now. What do you think? Is any of this plausible? Not plausible? Is it at least an interesting thought experiment to read about either way, or is it just a load of codswallop? Are there any blind spots I might've missed that I ought to address? Any other questions or comments? I'm curious to know.

[thebroccolination]

THE EX-MORNING Q22: AIRPORT!!! AIRPORT!!!

If you've seen KristSingto's episode of "Our Sky" from 2018, you'll know why airports are kind of a big deal for the fandom.

Why yes, that is Kongphob and Arthit getting engaged in an airport. \:D/

Why do I bring this up?

WELL.

Q22 was partially filmed at the airport.

And since this is a meta series, I am giving myself free rein to assume they filmed a proposal scene to mirror the one in "Our Skyy." Could I be wrong? Sure. Am I?

I AM NOT. I SPOKE TO PATHAPI AND TAMTAWAN ABOUT IT THIS MORNING.

Hey look! Potential Sapphics and My Most Beloved Ohm~

They didn't just film at the airport, though.

We also got…

Wherever the scene on the left is aaand what I'm assuming is someone's apartment on the right. With a pool.

Like I said yesterday, I'm pretty sure they're down to filming the final scenes of the series, so it'll be fun to connect all of this in summer. :D

Our clips of the day include a lot of airport footage, our daily Jamie selfies, and a cute boomerang of Ohm. <3

They wrapped around 9:30pm as usual, and we didn't get any shots of Krist or Singto today, but we may get one or two tomorrow the way we did earlier with Q21.

Aaand that's the wrap for Q22!

It's wild to think tomorrow's the last day of filming. :')

A little bittersweet, too, if I'm honest. I became a KristSingto fan in 2020, and I've never gotten to experience a full series with them as the leads before. It's a little surreal to think this is the first time I'm tracking a KristSingto series, but I think I'm going to appreciate it all the more because of it.

It's really special that they're doing a series with so much of their own lives and careers interwoven into the script. I'm already so proud of them, and I'm so excited to see the trailer. Hopefully on Saturday. Every crossable appendage is crossed.

See y'all tomorrow for Q23, the final Q of "The Ex-Morning"!

I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY FILMED IN AN AIRPORT